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I attended a day long retreat recently in which various people presented in PowerPoint format. Out of perhaps ten presentations, two stood out.

The first one that impressed started out with a blank screen, and then dropped in about six bullet points as the speaker got to them in his verbal presentation. This was very effective because the audience was not distracted from him as he talked and the small number of points added gravitas and focus to each one. The second presentation featured a couple of cartoon jokes that broke up the running data which brought the information to life and engaged the audience. Read more

Mr. Shmooze is in Hong Kong this week on a speaking engagement, so I am taking advantage of the trip to observe Shmooze-related ideas and applications in this exciting part of the world. Here is one big thing that jumps out immediately . . . service ethic . . . at least in the business district and big hotels.

You know in the U.S. when you run into (too often) someone at a front desk or on the phone who obviously does not like his or her job anymore and it comes out in his tone of voice, or through his attitude, that we are imposing by asking for service? Read more

Being the professional spokespeople that we are, we are always quite sure that everything we say is perfectly clear to the listener, particularly in a well prepared sales presentation. After all, we are probably speaking English to English speaking people, so when we say black or white or high or low, they obviously mean the same thing to our listeners as it does us. Right?

Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. In fact, our real odds of a listener understanding precisely what we are trying say in the course of a sales call can be as low as 10%. Here’s why. Read more

First of all, Happy New Year Everyone! We hope you all had a terrific holiday season and are “tanned, rested and ready” to blow the doors off of your sales goals in 2014!

The start of a new year is a particularly important time for us as salespeople. We are full of new energy, optimism and hope, and it is important that we explode out of the starting blocks, radiating that positive energy and confidence.

In fact, do you know what the number one thing buyers look for in salespeople in the course of sizing up a potential purchase? Read more